【推荐1】To examine the links between mobility behaviors and well-being, a research team led by Sandrine Mailer, a Data Science Institute research fellow, examined questionnaire and GPS data from 2,319 psychology students from a university in the United States. At the beginning of the study, the researchers collected students’ reports of their general levels of loneliness and depression. Additionally, students used their smartphones to answer questions about their anxiety, stress, and energy four times a day over the course of the next two weeks.

One unique aspect of the study is that the GPS data were also collected during this time. The GPS data were transformed into several measures of mobility behaviors, which were divided into three broad types of mobility patterns: distance (behaviors related to the distance a person travelled), entropy (the distribution of time a person spent in different places), and routine (the regularity of a person’s mobility patterns).

“After linking these mobility patterns to participants’ well-being scores, we found that mobility was related to well-being on the daily level, as well as on the level of an aggregate(集合) across the study period,” Müller said. “This shows that mobility behavior is not only important for understanding how people feel on a particular day, but may also predict how they will feel over a longer time.”

Distance and entropy specifically related to time spent in social places were related to more positive well-being. Routine behaviors were related to depression and loneliness. Taken together, these findings show that individuals’ mobility behavior may indeed be useful in predicting their well-being.

“While it was not something our study was aiming to do, I think it definitely gives ideas for future studies on interventions(干预) and real-world applications,” Müller said. “There’s potential for learning individual patterns and showing that on the days when people go to certain places, they feel better. By giving them suggestions of trying certain things, we can try to make them feel better.”

【推荐2】A research group, led by a scientist Professor Lilach Hadany at Tel Aviv University, have conducted a six-year experiment, proving that plants talk, particularly in certain stressful situations.

Plants were put in a sound-proof chamber (隔音室) and were recorded by two microphones. Some plants were in need of water, others were cut, and a control group were left undamaged. The researchers used an AI algorithm to separate the sounds successfully identifying the differences between the sounds made depending on whether they were dry or cut.

On average, the human ear can hear sounds up to around 20kHz, but the sounds produced by plants are in the 40-80kHz region, far beyond our hearing capabilities. That doesn’t mean they can’t be heard. “White unnoticed to the human ear, the sounds sent out by plants can probably be heard by various animals, such as bats, mice, and insects,” Hadany tells us. Though this has yet to be proven, it’s possible that these animals use this information for their benefit, choosing which plants to eat, for example.

While farming has become a science itself, there’s still a lot of estimation (估计) involved. If farmers were able to receive exact information directly from their crop, they could start a much more efficient method of care. The study thinks that more proper irrigation (灌溉) could save up to 50% of water cost and greatly improve the product. “In times when more and more areas are exposed to drought due to climate change, efficient water use becomes even more necessary, for both food safety and natural environment.” They would also be able to better identify and control disease in a crop.

The sounds sent out by plants are not cries for help, but rather a by-product of material stress rather than communication. Just as Hadany notes, “Obviously, a wonderful field of flowers can be a rather noisy place. It’s just that we can’t hear the sounds.”

【推荐1】Batman may not have any superpowers, but his inspiration certainly does.

More than 1,400 bat species live around the world, except in Antarctica and a few remote islands. Over their 50 million years of evolution, bats have developed clever solutions to life’s challenges, from a built-in sonar (声呐) system for finding food to fast, flexible wings that produce the fastest level-flight speed of any animal on Earth.

“There is still a lot to learn, but it is clear that bats really do have superpowers,” says Rodrigo Medellín, an ecologist. “Bats are showing us how to live a better life, for instance, by serving as models for healthy living and long lives.”

As a general rule in biology, smaller animals have shorter lives than larger ones. But bats are rule breakers: they’re the longest-lived mammals (哺乳动物) relative to their body size. Recently, scientists looked inside bats’ cells for the secrets to their exceptionally long lives. They focused on telomeres (端粒), which are the protective structures found at the ends of chromosomes (染色体). In most animals, telomeres tend to get shorter with age. But the telomeres of the longest-lived group of bats, Myotis, do not appear to shrink (收缩) with age. Understanding why bats live so long may help humans live longer one day.

In addition to living longer, bats remain healthy throughout their lives, with very low risk of developing cancer. Furthermore, bats can carry deadly viruses without getting sick. So further research into their unique immune (免疫的) systems may actually give insight into how people can live with viruses and not get sick.

Beyond their own abilities, bats also support many other parts of their ecosystems. Three out of every four bat species eat insects. Many are pests that cause damage to important agricultural crops, such as cotton. Scientists estimate that insect-eating bats may save U.S. farmers about 1 billion per year. In addition, many bat species help improve plant health and diversity.

“Bats are unsung heroes of biodiversity,” says Medellín. “It’s about time we appreciated them.”

【推荐2】When it comes to selecting a hiking companion, cats are usually far down on the list. Unless, of course, your name is JJ Yosh. JJ is an adventure filmmaker and social media influencer from Boulder, Colorado. He adopted a cat named Simon from his neighbor a year ago and they’ve been inseparable ever since !

When he adopted Simon, JJ had big plans. He immediately started training the cat to become his sidekick (伙伴) through countless adventures. Luckily, Simon proved to be a quick student who loves the great outdoors just as much as his owner!“ Simon’s favorite places are his backyard hiking spots in Boulder, Colorado,” JJ said.“ He loves exploring the nearby mountains where we have caves and rocks to climb.” While hiking, Simon chose between riding in a backpack and simply resting on JJ’s shoulder. When they camped overnight, they slept in a shared sleeping bag.

There’s nothing Simon wouldn’t do to stay close to his favorite human! Everywhere they go, JJ and Simon get plenty of attention from curious strangers.“ The reaction is usually amazement and surprise that I would be taking a cat into the back country, and that Simon would sit so gracefully on my shoulder like a parrot,” JJ said.

The cat’s owner hopes to encourage more people to train their pets to join them out in the world as well. “On top of getting outside, I want people to realize cats can be just as adventurous as dogs if given the proper training,” he said. This is one of the best romances we have ever seen! Simon and JJ are giving us serious goals. Somehow we think our lazy house cats are a bit too set in their ways to try this, but you never know !